Pacific Rim 3 Was Supposed to Connect With Godzilla vs. Kong’s MonsterVerse
In an alternate universe, Godzilla could have appeared in the Pacific Rim franchise. According to director Steven DeKnight, his initial idea was to have Pacific Rim 3 connect to the Monsterverse, movies like Godzilla vs. Kong. It never happened, and in all likelihood never will.
What did Steven DeKnight say about Pacific Rim 3?
Steven DeKnight has taken over the Guillermo del Toro franchise with Pacific Rim: Uprising. The series didn’t do as well as its predecessor from a critical or business standpoint. As such, Legendary Pictures never moved ahead with a third installment. The idea of connecting these two worlds, therefore, never materialized. But, replying to a fan question on Twitter lately, DeKnight explained that Pacific Rim 3 would eventually join the MonsterVerse.
Unfortunately, the filmmaker did not elaborate. So it’s not clear how, precisely, Pacific Rim 3 would have led to a world in which Godzilla and King Kong could have appeared beside the Jaegers. Interestingly, this is something Guillermo del Toro also signed on recently.
Del Toro explained in a follow-up tweet, adding, “Speaking only as a BTW fan, no plans to come back. So it seems to be, or at least was a popular idea. And that makes sense. Legendary co-founded and produced both franchises with Warner Bros. They both involve gigantic monsters on Earth. Presumably different versions of Earth, at least that’s what we thought. The point is, with cinematic universes, all the rage, all the parts were there. Someone just needed to put them together. Steven DeKnight intended to do so. The world had other plans.” Fate didn’t make a big-screen continuation of the franchise, given the dwindling financial returns.
Godzilla vs. Kong’s MonsterVerse
For a while, it seemed like Legendary Pictures had cornered the market in Hollywood when it came to kaiju, with Guillermo del Toro Pacific Rim arriving in theaters just ten months before Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla launched the MonsterVerse. However, the two films had very different fates, with the former only being saved from box office disaster by a healthy production in China. Simultaneously, the Return of the King of the Monsters grossed nearly $ 530 million in the world.
The second installments, meanwhile, doomed one franchise while reaffirming the popularity of the other. The Pacific Rim: Uprising of Steven S. DeKnight was too underperforming and exceeded nearly 290 million low figure for the successful armed result of a budget that hovers around 175 million. Meanwhile, Jordan Vogt-Roberts Kong: Skull Island flew away for $ 566 million.
The original Pacific Rim, released in 2013, grossed $ 411 million worldwide. Pacific Rim: Uprising, released five years ago in 2018, didn’t do as well, grossing just $ 290 million. While that didn’t make the biggest flop globally, it was also far from a success, given its announced production budget of $ 150 million.
The franchise will, however, continue elsewhere. Netflix is preparing to release a new title in the animated series Pacific Rim: The Black later this year. Maybe since Netflix is also producing the Godzilla anime, the two universes can collide in animated form on the go. But seeing him in live-action would be quite another thing—Godzilla vs. Kong hits theaters and HBO Max on March 31. Pacific Rim is as good as it is in live-action, while the Godzilla vs. Kong trail.
Source- ScreenRant
